System and method for online sign up provider selection

ABSTRACT

A mobile station selects a provider such as an online sign up (OSU) provider by receiving a pre-association message including OSU selection information from a Wi-Fi network component, such as an access point in communication with the OSU provider, and sending a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information to the network component. The OSU selection information excludes identification of the OSU network provider or resource, but provides other attributes to the user, such as price or service configuration. The pre-association message may be transmitted as a beacon or using ANQP.

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 13/647,292, filed on Oct. 8, 2012, entitled “Systemand Method for Online Sign Up Provider Selection,” which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/669,992, filed on Jul. 10, 2012,entitled “System and Method for Online Sign Up Provider Selection,” bothof which are incorporated by reference herein as if reproduced in itsentireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for wirelesscommunications, and, in particular embodiments, to a system and methodfor online sign up provider selection.

BACKGROUND

In Wi-Fi Alliance Hotspot 2.0 technical specification release 2 version1.02, an online sign up (OSU) function is provided for users to sign upsubscriptions (i.e., get subscriptions via online) via a Wi-Fi accessnetwork. Such functionality may be delivered to the users through apre-association message such as, for example, a beacon or the AccessNetwork Query Protocol (ANQP) message 10 (i.e., element) illustrated inFIG. 1. The ANQP message 10 includes a Hotspot OSU Providers list 12.The Hotspot OSU Providers list 12 incorporates information for one ormore entities offering OSU service.

The format of the OSU Providers list 12 is shown in FIG. 2. For each OSUprovider listed in FIG. 1, at least the following information isprovided: their friendly name (in multiple human languages) 14, thenetwork access identifier (NAI) 16 to be used to authenticate to theWi-Fi access network (when configured for WPA2-Enterprise security), theuniversal resource identifier (URI) of their OSU Server 18, and theirIcon(s) 20.

The mobile device (i.e., mobile station) uses the OSU NAI 16 to indicateits intention to access the network without peer authentication by usingthe OSU NAI 16 as its identity in the authentication process. One OSUProvider field 12 is always available if online sign-up is mandatory, asindicated by the Network Authentication Type.

SUMMARY

An embodiment method for online sign up (OSU) provider selectionincludes receiving, by a mobile station, a pre-association message, thepre-association message including OSU selection information, accepting,by the mobile station, a selection of an OSU provider in accordance withthe OSU selection information, and connecting, by the mobile station, toa server of the OSU provider in accordance with the selection.

An embodiment method for online sign up (OSU) provider selectionincludes receiving, by a mobile station, a pre-association message, thepre-association message including an OSU provider identifier and OSUselection information, accepting, by the mobile station, a selection ofan OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information, andconnecting, by the mobile station, to a server of the OSU provider inaccordance with the selection.

An embodiment method permitting online sign up (OSU) provider selectionincludes transmitting, by a network component, a pre-associationmessage, the pre-association message including an OSU provideridentifier and OSU selection information, and receiving, at the networkcomponent, a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSUselection information.

An embodiment mobile station in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) networkincludes an antenna adapted to receive a pre-association message, thepre-association message including an OSU provider identifier and OSUselection information, and an input device adapted to permit selectionof an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information.

An embodiment controller in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network includesan antenna adapted to transmit a pre-association message, thepre-association message including an OSU provider identifier and OSUselection information, and the antenna adapted to receive the selectionof an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the Hotspot Online Sign-Up (OSU) Providers listformat within an ANQP message;

FIG. 2 illustrates the OSU Provider field format;

FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between OSU provider and BSS;

FIG. 4 illustrates the relationship between OSU provider and BSS;

FIG. 5 illustrates the relationship of OSU provider and BSS (mostpreferred BSS);

FIG. 6 illustrates the relationship of OSU provider and BSS (owndeployed BSS option);

FIG. 7 illustrates the relationship of OSU provider and BSS (priorityorder option);

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the relationship of OSU provider andBSS (most preferred OSU provider);

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the relationship of OSU provider andBSS (own deployed BSS);

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the relationship of OSU provider andBSS (priority order);

FIG. 11 illustrates an example OSU provider field format;

FIG. 12 illustrates OSU attributes;

FIG. 13 illustrates OSU attributes type;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of value field for available services;

FIG. 15 illustrates a wireless communications network; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a computing platform that may beused for implementing, for example, the devices and methods describedherein, in accordance with an embodiment.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments andare not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments arediscussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that thepresent disclosure provides many applicable inventive concepts that canbe embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed are merely illustrative and do not limit the scopeof the disclosure.

The present disclosure will be described with respect to preferredembodiments in a specific context, namely a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)wireless standard, which may also be known as IEEE 802.11. The conceptsin the disclosure may also apply, however, to other types ofcommunications standards for connecting electronic devices or accessnetworks.

In the current WFA hotspot 2.0 release 2 standard, a user selects theOSU based on the information of the OSU NAI 16 as shown in FIG. 2, butthis information generally is not enough. For example, a user may wantto consider what type of additional services the OSU offers. Anotherexample is that a user may want to access a basic service set (BSS) thatis deployed by the OSU provider, which may provide the lowest price forservice.

As used herein, the OSU provider may be a Wi-Fi provider or a Wi-Fihotspot operator or may be another entity altogether. For example, theOSU service provider may provide network access service itself oroperate a Wi-Fi hotspot. In contrast, if the OSU service provider has noWi-Fi network the OSU service provider may borrow or rent a Wi-Finetwork from a hotspot operator.

As will be more fully explained below, an embodiment method assists withselection of online sign up provider by providing some information viaANQP message or some other message. In an embodiment, the relationshipbetween OSU provider and the BSS is set and sent to the user device fromthe network to user devices for helping select OSU provider to processonline sign up. Embodiments may be implemented in Wi-Fi networks anduser devices, such as a Wi-Fi access point (AP), a Wi-Fi station (STA),and the like.

An embodiment method provides additional information on OSUcharacteristics or OSU provider's characteristics or preference in somepre-association message (e.g., ANQP message or beacon), so that thisinformation can be used by the user or user device to select the OSUprovider to get a subscription. This information may be referred to asOSU selection information. As used herein, the OSU selection informationexcludes the following information pertaining to the OSU provider: theirfriendly name (in multiple human languages) 14, the network accessidentifier (NAI) 16 to be used to authenticate to the Wi-Fi accessnetwork (when configured for WPA2-Enterprise security), the universalresource identifier (URI) of their OSU Server 18, and their Icon(s) 20.In an embodiment, an OSU selection information field 22 is added to theANQP message 24 as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the OSUselection information field 22 may indicate a relationship between OSUprovider and BSS.

In an embodiment, the OSU selection information representing a type ofrelationship of OSU provider and BSS is sent via ANQP message 24 or someother element or message (e.g., beacon), more specially, via the“Hotspot Online Sign-Up (OSU) Providers list” (in FIG. 1) and “OSUProvider field” (in FIG. 2) element. The relationship may indicatewhether this BSS (the one that is sending the ANQP element to the userdevice) is the OSU provider's most preferred BSS, or a priority value ofthis BSS for the OSU provider, and so on. An example is shown in FIG. 4of relationship information being included in the OSU selectioninformation field 22 of FIG. 3. Another example is provided in the table26 of FIG. 5 (most preferred BSS), the table 28 of FIG. 6 (own deployedBSS option), and the table 30 of FIG. 7 (priority order option). Therelationship defined in these tables are merely examples and do notlimit other possible definitions of the relationship.

The OSU provider may set the relationship value based on itsrelationship with the BSS. For example, if this BSS is its own deployedBSS, it will set the highest priority for this BSS, or if this BSSoperator gives the OSU provider a good price for a roaming agreement, itwill set the second highest priority for this BSS, and so on. These arejust some examples for how to set the relationship, but do not limitembodiments for other implementations of the relationship.

When the user device receives this information, the user device can showthis information to the user for the user to select a suitable OSUprovider, or the user device can select directly based on theconfiguration policy (e.g., the user sent the configuration policy tothe user device to select the OSU provider of the highest priority BSSwho has the best signaling strength).

In an embodiment, the BSS (operator) sets the relationship value basedon its relationship with the OSU provider. For example, if this OSUprovider is its operator, it will set the highest priority for this OSUprovider, or if this OSU provider gives the BSS (operator) a good pricefor a roaming agreement, it will set the second highest priority forthis OSU provider, and so on. Again, these are just some examples forhow to set the relationship, but do not limit other embodiments withother relationships.

The relationship of OSU provider and BSS is sent via ANQP element orsome other message (e.g., beacon), more specifically, via “HotspotOnline Sign-Up (OSU) Providers list” (in FIG. 1) and “OSU Providerfield” (in FIG. 2) element. The relationship may indicate whether thisBSS (the one that is sending the ANQP element to the user device) is theOSU provider most preferred BSS, or a priority value of this BSS for theOSU provider, and so on. An example is shown in FIG. 4 of relationshipinformation being included in the OSU selection information field 22 ofFIG. 3. Another example is provided in the table 32 of FIG. 8 (mostpreferred OSU provider), the table 34 of FIG. 9 (own deployed BSS), andthe table 36 of FIG. 10 (priority order). A further example is shown inFIG. 1, where the OSU providers listed in the OSU provider list 12element are listed by the order of their priority (e.g., OSU Provider#1, OSU Provider #2, . . . OSU Provider #N). When the user devicereceives this information, the user device can show the information tothe user for the user to select a suitable OSU provider, or the userdevice can select directly based on the configuration policy.

In an embodiment, a Wi-Fi network component (could be an ANQP server, anAP, or AP controller or some other Wi-Fi component) provides additionalinformation about each OSU, which information can be used by the userfor OSU selection. Examples of such information are cost ofsubscription, access to various services, minimum quality of service(QoS) guaranteed, etc. The additional information is sent via ANQPmessage 10 or some other element or message (e.g., beacon), morespecifically, via “Hotspot Online Sign-Up (OSU) Providers list” (inFIG. 1) and “OSU Provider field” (in FIG. 2) element in OSU attributes.FIG. 11 illustrates example OSU provider field 22 format (e.g., the OSUselection information field). FIG. 12 illustrates OSU attributes 38within the OSU provider field 22. The OSU attributes 38 have thefollowing structure: 1 byte the OSU attribute type 40, 1 byte the OSUattribute value 42.

In an embodiment, the information for the OSU selection in the OSUselection information field 22 can be a kind of introduction of the OSUprovider (or service provider), or an advertisement from the OSUprovider. This introduction or advertisement can be a kind of texttransferred from the network to the user device (e.g., via ANQP messageof Hotspot Online Sign-Up (OSU) Providers list format, or some othermessages). For example, it can be as “the best user experience in theworld with a lowest and flexible rate,” or “it is a network from CMCCproviding all over the world coverage and roaming.” When the user devicereceives this information, it can show it to the user and wait for theuser's input, or it can handle it by itself. For example, it can pick upkey word and check the pre-configured key-word in itself. If the keyword matches one of the pre-configured key words, it will handle itaccording to the pre-configured process link to the pre-configured keyword.

FIG. 13 illustrates a OSU attributes type table 44. FIG. 14 illustratesan example table 46 with a value field for available services. Anotherexample is that the available services are listed as a bit map and eachbit indicates a service. When a bit is set to 1, it means that the OSUprovider provides the corresponding service. When the user devicereceives the ANQP message it will display a list of OSU names, andoptionally will display the OSU attributes to allow the user to make aninformation selection.

FIG. 15 illustrates a wireless cellular communications network 48 thatpreferably comprises a plurality of base stations (BS) 50 providingvoice and/or data wireless communication service to a plurality ofmobile stations (MS) 52. The BSs 50, which may also be referred to byother names such as access network (AN), cellular access point (AP), acellular network communications controller, Node-B, etc., preferablydownlink (DL) information to the MSs 52 while also receiving uplink (UL)information from the MSs 52. In an embodiment, the MS is smart phone hasboth Wi-Fi and cellular network communication connectivity.

Each BS 50 preferably has a corresponding coverage area 54. Thesecoverage areas 54 represent the range of each BS 50 to adequatelytransmit data, and, while not necessarily shown, the coverage areas ofadjacent BSs 50 preferably have some overlap in order to accommodatehandoffs between BSs 50 whenever a MS 52 exits one coverage area 54 andenters an adjacent coverage area 54. Each BS 50 also preferably includesa scheduler 56 for allocating radio resources to the MSs 52.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a processing system 58 that may be usedfor implementing the devices and methods disclosed herein. Specificdevices may utilize all of the components shown, or only a subset of thecomponents, and levels of integration may vary from device to device.Furthermore, a device may contain multiple instances of a component,such as multiple processing units, processors, memories, transmitters,receivers, etc. The processing system 58 may comprise a processing unitequipped with one or more input/output devices 60, such as a speaker,microphone, mouse, touchscreen, keypad, keyboard, printer, display, andthe like. The processing system 58 may include a central processing unit(CPU) 62, memory 64, a mass storage device 66, a video adapter 68, andan I/O interface 70 connected to a bus 72.

The bus 72 may be one or more of any type of several bus architecturesincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, videobus, or the like. The CPU 66 may comprise any type of electronic dataprocessor. The memory 64 may comprise any type of system memory such asstatic random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), a combination thereof,or the like. In an embodiment, the memory 64 may include ROM for use atboot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use while executingprograms.

The mass storage 66 device may comprise any type of storage deviceconfigured to store data, programs, and other information and to makethe data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus 72. Themass storage device 66 may comprise, for example, one or more of a solidstate drive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical diskdrive, or the like.

The video adapter 68 and the I/O interface 70 provide interfaces tocouple external input and output devices to the processing unit. Asillustrated, examples of input and output devices include the displaycoupled to the video adapter 68 and the mouse/keyboard/printer coupledto the I/O interface 70. Other devices may be coupled to the processingsystem 58, and additional or fewer interface cards may be utilized. Forexample, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (notshown) may be used to provide an interface for a printer.

The processing system 58 also includes one or more network interfaces74, which may comprise wired links, such as an Ethernet cable or thelike, and/or wireless links to access nodes or different networks. Thenetwork interface 74 allows the processing system 58 to communicate withremote systems or units via the networks. For example, the networkinterface 74 may provide wireless communication via one or moretransmitters/transmit antennas and one or more receivers/receiveantennas. In an embodiment, the processing system 58 (a.k.a., processingunit) is coupled to a local-area network 76 or a wide-area network 76for data processing and communications with remote devices, such asother processing units, the Internet, remote storage facilities, or thelike.

The following references are related to subject matter of the presentapplication. Each of these references is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety:

-   -   WFA hotspot 2.0 release 2.

While the disclosure provides illustrative embodiments, this descriptionis not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Variousmodifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as wellas other embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the artupon reference to the description. It is therefore intended that theappended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for online sign up (OSU) providerselection, the method comprising: receiving, by a Wi-Fi enabled device,an access network query protocol (ANQP) message from a network server,the ANQP message comprising at least an OSU provider subfield specifyinga uniform resource indicator (URI) associated with one or more servicesprovided by an OSU provider, wherein the OSU provider subfield includesan OSU service description field that contains a service provider'sdescription of a service being offered to the Wi-Fi enabled device; andestablishing a connection between the Wi-Fi enabled device and a serverof the OSU provider in accordance with information in the OSU providersubfield.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the URI comprises a uniformresource locator (URL) associated with a venue of the OSU provider. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the URI comprises a uniform resourcelocator (URL) specifying information particular to a venue of the OSUprovider.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the URI is associated withan advertising service.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the URI isassociated with a list of services.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe OSU provider subfield includes an OSU provider length field, an OSUfriendly name length field, an OSU server URI length field, an OSUmethod list length field, and an OSU network access identifier (NAI)length field.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the OSU providersubfield includes an icons available field.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the OSU provider subfield further includes an OSU providerlength field, an OSU friendly name length field, an OSU friendly namefield, an OSU server uniform resource identifier (URI) length field, anOSU method list length field, an OSU method list field, an iconsavailable field, an OSU network access identifier (NAI) length field,and an OSU service description length field.
 9. A Wi-Fi enabled devicecomprising: a processor; and a computer readable storage medium storingprogramming for execution by the processor, the programming includinginstructions to: receive an access network query protocol (ANQP) messagefrom a network server, the ANQP message comprising at least an OSUprovider subfield specifying a uniform resource indicator (URI)associated with one or more services provided by an OSU provider, andwherein the OSU provider subfield includes an OSU service descriptionfield that contains a service provider's description of a service beingoffered to the Wi-Fi enabled device; and establish a connection betweenthe Wi-Fi enabled device and a server of the OSU provider in accordancewith information in the OSU provider subfield.
 10. The Wi-Fi enableddevice of claim 9, wherein the URI comprises a uniform resource locator(URL) associated with a venue of the OSU provider.
 11. The Wi-Fi enableddevice of claim 9, wherein the URI comprises a uniform resource locator(URL) specifying information particular to a venue of the OSU provider.12. The Wi-Fi enabled device of claim 9, wherein the URI is associatedwith an advertising service.
 13. A method for online sign up (OSU)provider advertising, the method comprising: transmitting an accessnetwork query protocol (ANQP) message to a Wi-Fi enabled device, theANQP message comprising at least an OSU provider subfield specifying auniform resource indicator (URI) associated with one or more servicesprovided by an OSU provider, wherein information in the OSU providersubfield prompts the Wi-Fi enabled device to establish a connection witha server of the OSU provider in accordance with information in the OSUprovider subfield, and wherein the OSU provider subfield includes an OSUservice description field that contains a service provider's descriptionof a service being offered to the Wi-Fi enabled device.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein the URI comprises a uniform resource locator (URL)associated with a venue of the OSU provider.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the URI comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) specifyinginformation particular to a venue of the OSU provider.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the URI is associated with an advertising service. 17.The method of claim 13, wherein the URI is associated with a list ofservices.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the OSU provider subfieldincludes an OSU provider length field, an OSU friendly name lengthfield, an OSU server URI length field, an OSU method list length field,and an OSU network access identifier (NAI) length field.
 19. The methodof claim 18, wherein the OSU provider subfield includes an iconsavailable field.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the OSU providersubfield further includes an OSU provider length field, an OSU friendlyname length field, an OSU friendly name field, an OSU server uniformresource identifier (URI) length field, an OSU method list length field,an OSU method list field, an icons available field, an OSU networkaccess identifier (NAI) length field, and an OSU service descriptionlength field.